The invention relates to a filter cartridge for a filter for filtering liquid or gaseous media comprising two front disks and a substantially hollow cylindrical filter member arranged inbetween the two front disks, with the medium to be filtered flowing through the filter member, with at least one of the front disks provided with a central aperture whereby the filter cartridge is axially mountable onto a medium inlet pipe or outlet pipe with at least one seal sealingly positioned inbetween, and wherein the filter cartridge is detachable from the pipe for replacement.
Filter cartridges of the kind mentioned are widely used in filters for liquid or gaseous media, e.g. oil, fuel or air, and are known therefrom. With these known filter cartridges at least the front disks are made of metal, e.g. tinplate or aluminum. These metallic front disks are commonly manufactured by stamping, pressing or deep drawing. Also, a supporting body often arranged in the interior of the filter member commonly is made of metal, usually of an apertured pipe. Also, a jacket surrounding the filter member at the outside, and often present at the filter cartridge, consists of the same material, with the jacket protecting the filter member against mechanical influence from the outside and also supporting it towards the outside.
The described filter cartridges are worn out after a certain time of operation, which means that they are loaded with particles filtered out of the medium to be filtered, such that a further use is not possible. In most cases such filter cartridges are not cleaned and reused but are disposed into the garbage. It is a disadvantage in particular, that with the deposition of such filter cartridges a relative large volume at the dump site is used due to the bulk of the filter, even though a significant amount of that volume comprises air spaces within the filter. Also, when burning these filter cartridges with the garbage, the metal parts remain as residue after the incineration process and still consume some significant volume of the dumping area, although a smaller one.